Sleep Medicine Group

The Pioneers of a Healthy Night’s Sleep

Sleep Apnea Doctors Serving Portland, OR

Do you Snore? Has CPAP failed you? Your Solution is here. You aren’t alone, approximately 1 in 5 of all Oregonians suffer from some sort of sleeping disorder. You’ve taken the first step, we’re here to help. Call or email to get the conversation started. While every diagnosis and treatment is itself unique, Dr. Joe Zelk and Dr. Richard Moore have helped patients:

Sleep quieter

Sleep more soundly

Wake up less (if at all) during the night

Have more energy during the day

Find a permanent and less intrusive solution than a CPAP machine

We are the only sleep clinic in the area that offers multi-specialty sleep specialist that focus on home sleep testing, dental appliance and auto-adjusting CPAP therapy. The average wait for sleep consultation in the Greater Portland area can be months at other clinics. At Sleep Medicine Group a patient can often be seen within a week.

Snoring

Snoring affects you when you are awake! Snoring is not only annoying to your partner, but in most cases snoring keeps you from getting into the Deep sleep and REM (Dream) sleep that rehabilitates and refreshes the body. If you snore, quite frankly your body isn’t resting at its full potential. In many cases, this is why you are tired when you wake up, need many cups of coffee to get you going; and if you are exercising or running, keeps your endurance from reaching its full potential.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea, very simply described is when you stop breathing while you are sleeping. It sometimes happens while you are snoring, but not always. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, and not everyone who has sleep apnea snores. If you or your partner do have symptoms of sleep apnea, it is imperative to find a solution as soon as possible. The American Heart Association has conducted many studies showing sleep apnea having a root in heart disease, heart attacks, stoke, and death. (Didn’t want to scare you here, but as you can see, its super important to get this taken care of). Severe OSA can take ten years off of a person’s life span.

Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS)

Snoring is simply a symptom that some type of resistance is occurring in the upper respiratory system while you are sleeping. The greater the resistance, the greater the breathing effort needed to get past the resistance. UARS can last several minutes at a time. UARS feels like breathing through a coffee stir straw. This is a lot of work and not easy to do when you are awake. Imagine how hard it is to the body when asleep. It’s impossible to self-diagnose, which is why it’s incredibly important to see us for an appointment.

Shiftwork/Travel Related Fatigue

Long work hours, long shifts – including ‘graveyard’ or overnight shifts mess with your body’s circadian rhythms and homeostatic regulation of sleep. With long haul truck drivers, nurses, doctors, and other shift workers, many employers and unions are requiring employees to show proof that your body gets the sleep it needs in order to keep your license. Sleep Medicine Group can assess and if needed diagnose any sleeping disorders to keep you on the job.

Dr. Richard Moore

Dental Director

Dr. Richard W. Moore, a general dentist from Vancouver, Washington is a 1977 graduate of Northwestern University Dental School. Dr. Moore has lectured widely throughout North America since 1993…Learn More

Dr. Joseph Zelk

Clinic Director - Diplomat of the American Board of Sleep Medicine

Nationally known speaker on sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease. He has been an invited expert for sleep disorders-related articles for the Nurse Practitioner, Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and other periodicals.Learn More